


Song of Hope

by wowbright



Series: Glee Season 6 Episode Reactions [20]
Category: Glee
Genre: College, Conversations, Episode: s06e11 We Built This Glee Club, Fluff, Honeymoon, M/M, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-19
Updated: 2015-03-19
Packaged: 2018-03-18 14:00:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3572264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wowbright/pseuds/wowbright
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On their honeymoon, Blaine tells Kurt he applied to NYU. Happy reaction fic to <em>Glee</em> 6x11 “We Built This Glee Club.” Also on <a href="http://wowbright.tumblr.com/post/114019856285/fic-song-of-hope-kurt-blaine">tumblr</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Song of Hope

**Author's Note:**

> In the United States, there’s often a lag time of a few months between when a person applies to a school and when they find out whether they got in. This story takes place during that lag time. Title from Styx’s “Come Sail Away.” Thanks to marauder-in-warblerland for the beta!

Kurt and Blaine’s honeymoon is in Provincetown, but it feels so different from their daily lives that it might as well be on another planet. There’s nowhere they have to be, no song lists to plan, no jobs to go to, no classes to prepare for, no phone calls or texts to respond to. If they wanted, they could spend the whole day just gazing at each other and whispering _I love you_ , with short breaks for meals and naps. It’s strange and beautiful to be like this, with no rush or hurry.

It gives them space to talk about the things that used to frighten them, and sometimes still do: their careers, children, where to live in the long-term – as well as a few things that are much more imminent.

“I want to go back to school,” Blaine says while they’re out on the beach at low tide, trying to skip stones across the water. They’re both terrible at it, but it doesn’t matter. The fun is in the trying.

“Oh?” says Kurt, though he’s not at all surprised. Blaine didn’t get kicked out of NYADA by choice. “I’m sure they’ll take you back now that you have a diagnosis. Clinical depression is a medical contingency.”

Blaine shakes his head. “Not NYADA. I applied to NYU this summer after I started feeling better. Some other schools in the city, too.”

Kurt’s stone drops with a thud into the water. He turns to look at Blaine. “Because of me?”

Blaine sets his stones on the sand and gestures for Kurt to follow him a few steps up the beach to dry sand. They sit down facing each other. Blaine takes Kurt’s hands. “To be honest? Part of it was because I wasn’t sure I could be near you if we weren’t together anymore. NYADA is a really small place.”

“But we’re together now,” Kurt says. A pang of empathy shoots through his heart over what he put Blaine through. “You don’t have to avoid me. I know I was… protective of my space when we were both there. But I’m sure we can work something out if that’s where you want to go. NYADA doesn’t belong to me.”

Blaine looks down at their hands. “I don’t think it _is_ where I want to go. We both know I wasn’t there for the right reasons. I applied there because that’s where you were.”

The words hang in the air between them, a simple truth made sharp by the fact that it went unspoken for more than a year. But it’s a good kind of sharpness – the kind that comes with relief, like the sting of a bandage being ripped off.

Kurt exhales. “You could go there for the right reasons, though. It’s not like it was ever a bad fit for you. You love to perform as much as I do.”

“Yeah, but … I love other things, too. I’m not sure performing is what I want to do as a career.”

“No?” Performing is the only career Kurt’s ever heard Blaine talk seriously about. Of course, what else _would_ Blaine have talked about? Considering other options while attending NYADA is like admitting failure – that’s how the faculty and most of the students look at it, anyway.

“These past few months with the Warblers – it felt really right. And I don’t think it’s just because I love Dalton. I think …” Blaine looks up at Kurt. His face radiates warmth and a tender vulnerability. It reminds Kurt of the first time Blaine kissed him – how nervous Blaine looked in the moments beforehand, but also how sure. “I think I love to teach. I think that might be my calling in life. Or at least part of it.”

Pride wells up in Kurt’s chest. The Blaine in front of him even braver than the one Kurt used to know – which is strange to think, because Blaine has always been courageous. He’s always been willing to take risks for the people he loves.

Still, there’s something different about the bravery Blaine’s displaying right now. Kurt can’t put his finger on _how_ , but he knows it is.

“If I go to NYU or the New School or CUNY or Pace, I can major in music or performance, but I can also get my teaching certification at the same time. Or I could even change my major if I find something I like even better. I can’t do that at NYADA, which makes it not a good fit for me.”

 _For me._ The words echo reassuringly in Kurt’s head, in time with the shushing waves. And that’s what’s different, Kurt realizes. Blaine is gathering up the courage to do something to make _himself_ happy, independent of what anyone else thinks he should do.

It’s the kind of courage Kurt always wished for Blaine, only he didn’t know it until now.

“You’re beautiful, Blaine,” Kurt says, squeezing Blaine’s hands.

Blaine lets out a surprised laugh. “Does that mean you’re okay with it?”

“I’m _more_ than okay with it, Blaine. I’m proud of you.”

“Really?” Blaine blushes and ducks his head the way he does when he’s overwhelmed with joy. It’s adorable.

“You’ve always said the two things you want most in life are to make art and help people. So teaching makes a lot of sense. I want you to be able to do what you love.”

Blaine blinks up at Kurt through dark, smiling lashes. “As long as doing _what_ I love includes doing _whom_ I love.”

“Always.” Kurt gives Blaine a slow, open-mouthed kiss. “Always.”


End file.
